This week in Indian law: Parliament passed the Insurance Laws Amendment permitting 100 per cent FDI. The Securities Markets Code 2025 was referred to the Standing Committee. The SHANTI Act modernised nuclear energy governance. The VB-GRAM-G Act replaced MGNREGA. Parliament's Winter Session adjourned after enacting eight new laws, making 2025 one of the most legislatively productive years in Indian parliamentary history. 14 significant developments this week.
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Parliament Passes Insurance Laws Amendment Allowing 100% FDI
Category: Legislative & Policy | Date: 17 December 2025 | Source: Parliament of India
Parliament passed the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha Act 2025, amending the Insurance Act 1938 and the IRDAI Act 1999 to permit 100 per cent foreign direct investment in Indian insurance companies. The legislation represents the final step in a decade-long liberalisation trajectory — the FDI cap was raised from 26 per cent to 49 per cent in 2015 and to 74 per cent in 2021. The Act also mandates digital KYC norms for all insurance transactions, requires insurers to maintain electronic policy records, strengthens IRDAI's enforcement powers with enhanced penalty provisions, and introduces provisions for microinsurance products targeting underserved populations.
Why it matters: India's insurance penetration remains below the global average. Full foreign ownership is expected to bring capital infusion, product innovation, and distribution expansion — potentially transforming access to insurance across underserved markets.
Read more: Veritect analysis
Legislative and policy developments
Securities Markets Code 2025 Referred to Standing Committee
Date: 18 December 2025
The Securities Markets Code 2025, introduced earlier in the Winter Session, was formally referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance for detailed examination. The bill proposes to consolidate the SEBI Act 1992, the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act 1956, and the Depositories Act 1996 into a single comprehensive statute. The standing committee is expected to undertake extensive consultations with market participants, regulators, and legal experts. The committee's report is likely to be submitted during the Budget Session 2026.
Key point: The referral to a standing committee indicates Parliament's intent to give the bill thorough scrutiny before passage, given its potential to fundamentally reshape capital markets regulation.
Parliament of India · Veritect analysis
SHANTI Act 2025 Modernises Nuclear Energy Governance
Date: 18 December 2025
Parliament passed the SHANTI Act 2025 (Strategic Harnessing of Atomic and Nuclear Technologies for India), modernising the governance framework for India's nuclear energy programme. The Act updates the Atomic Energy Act 1962 to reflect contemporary nuclear technology developments, establishes enhanced safety standards aligned with IAEA guidelines, creates a framework for private sector participation in nuclear energy through joint ventures, and strengthens the nuclear liability regime.
Key point: Private sector participation in nuclear energy, previously prohibited, is now legally possible under the joint venture framework, potentially accelerating India's nuclear energy expansion.
Gazette of India · Veritect analysis
VB-GRAM-G Act 2025 Replaces MGNREGA
Date: 19 December 2025
Parliament passed the VB-GRAM-G Act 2025, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2005 with an enhanced rural employment guarantee framework. The new Act increases the minimum guaranteed employment days, introduces skill development components alongside manual labour, mandates digital wage payment within 15 days, and creates performance-based incentives for implementing agencies.
Key point: The replacement of MGNREGA with an enhanced framework signals the government's intent to modernise India's largest employment programme while maintaining the employment guarantee.
Gazette of India · Veritect analysis
Winter Session Adjourns After Eight Acts Enacted
Date: 19 December 2025
Parliament's Winter Session 2025 adjourned sine die on 19 December after 15 sittings, during which 8 new statutes were enacted. Combined with the 15 bills passed during the Monsoon Session, 2025 saw Parliament enact 23 new laws — making it one of the most legislatively productive years in recent Indian parliamentary history. The year's legislative output includes comprehensive reforms to direct taxation, maritime law, mining governance, online gaming, sports governance, insurance regulation, nuclear energy, rural employment, and port administration.
Key point: The legislative productivity of 2025 — 23 new statutes replacing colonial-era and outdated legislation — will reshape India's legal and regulatory landscape for years to come.
Parliament of India · Veritect analysis
Court judgments
SC Rises for Winter Recess
The Supreme Court rose for its annual winter recess around 20 December 2025, with regular sittings expected to resume in the first week of January 2026. Key matters pending for the new year include the IBC-Industrial Disputes Act tension, the Aravalli Hills committee recommendations review, and UAPA bail applications in ongoing terrorism cases.
Also this week
- RBI rate cut transmission — Banks actively passing through December rate cut; home loan and SME lending rates declining.
- DPDP Rules compliance — Organizations reaching early implementation milestones; consent management platforms operational.
- Income-Tax Act 2025 — Under 4 months to effective date; final transition preparations underway.
- Year-end regulatory notifications — RBI, SEBI, and MCA issuing year-end circulars and clarifications.
By the numbers
- 23 — New statutes enacted by Parliament in 2025 (15 Monsoon + 8 Winter)
- 100% — FDI now permitted in Indian insurance companies, up from 74%
- 15 — Sittings in the Winter Session that produced 8 new laws
Looking ahead
- January 2026: SC resumes from winter recess; Securities Markets Code examination continues
- 1 April 2026: Income-Tax Act 2025 takes effect — 3.5 months remaining
- Budget Session 2026: Securities Markets Code standing committee report expected; Union Budget
- 2026: DPDP Rules compliance deadlines for Significant Data Fiduciaries
This is the Veritect Weekly Legal Roundup for Week 51 of 2025. For daily updates, visit our legal news page. Subscribe to receive this roundup every Monday morning.
Veritect provides this content for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.